Apparatus for treating cereal products.



T. G. BLACKLOCK.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING CEREAL PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24. 1916.

1,203,175. Patented Oct. 31,1916.

2 SHEETS-TSHEET I.

Z 2'5 44- f [3214 r /i A I w g wvawto z I'm/assis 31.7. I rue v T. G. BLACKLOCK.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING CEREAL PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, I916. I

, Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

nvewfo' MA.

Wit-Essex;

THOMAS e. BLAGKLOCK, or NEW YORK, 1v. 2i, sssrenon 'ro BLAcKfLocK MILLIne COMPANY, INCORPORATED, A COBPDTION OF NEW YORK.

APPARATUS ron 'rnna'rine cnnnar. rnonuo'rs.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented (lot. 31, 19163.

Application filed March 24, 1916. Serial No. 86,385.

Improvement in Apparatus for Treating Cereal Products, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is primarily to provide an advantageous continuous apparatus for carrying out the process of treating cereal products covered by myapplication of even date herewith, Serial Number 86384:. In accordance with that process the cereal after being ground, or that portion .of the cereal which is subject to deterioration, is heated in such manner as to bring outthe moisture contained in the particles, and while in this moist or steaming condition is mixed with a suitable proportion of salt, which dissolves in the moisture of the cereal andupon cooling remains adherent thereto, so that the product may thereafter be kept without danger of heating and molding or of being spoiled by eggs and larvae hatching out and developing therein. The

cereal products which I particularly purpose to treat in this way are those consisting of part or all of the bran constituents of wheat, including in this term the epidermal layers, the gluten bearing cell layer therebeneath, the germ, and the skin 'surrounding the divisions of the endosperm, that is to say the elements rich in nitrogenous and oleaginous .content, which, are rejected in making refined white flour. Such products are of important food value, but have hitherto been difficult to keep, because the elements p'eculiarthereto, and particularly the oil content,'have causedthe cereal to heat and become sour and mildewed, in addition to which the larvae of the Mediterranean moth have developed therein, producing a large amount of web and rendering the cereal unfit for use. When the products of this character are treated in accordance I with my process, however, these drawbacks are overcome.

The process and apparatus may be used in the production of a breakfast food or the like composed exclusively or largely of such bran constituents, or in the manufacture of whole wheat flour and other whole wheat products. In the case of whole wheat prodtate of ucts the bran constituents are separated from the starchy endosperm particles before he- 1ng treated as described and after cooling are re-mixed withv the endosperm constituent. Where treated bran constituents are recombined, with the endosperm constituent, the treatment of the former has the further advantage of preventing diastasic actionupon the starchy elements due to enzyms contained in the bran particles. The process may also beapplied to Indian corn products, such as corn meal, the whole of the ground corn being preferably subjected to the treatment.

For carrying out the process I provide a system of closed spouts, conduits and chambers, with conveyers therein, for feeding and conducting the raw cereal product through the stages of its treatment at a definite speed and in definite quantity, one of the chambers being a heater or sterilizer, another a blender, together with means for supplying salt in regulated quantity to the blender, there to mix with the still hot and steaming cereal delivered from the heater. Means are also preferably provided for maintaining a partial vacuum in the heater, and if desired elsewhere in the ,system, in order to aid in producing the moist or steaming condition of the cereal as the result ofmoisture given out by the cereal itself. The apparatus may also be used for mixing prepared flour for' biscuits, muflins, griddle cakes, etc., for which purpose I provide a by-pass leading from'the feed hopper, around the heater to the blender, in addltion to which other spouts may also be arranged for the purpose of supplying difl'erentcereal constituents to the blender, without passing through the heater. Under such circumstances the salt feeder maybe employed to supply other materials than salt to the blender, appropriate change being made in its rate of drive.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 represents a vertical section through theapparatns, parts. thereof being in elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged'v'iew, partly in vertical section and partly inside elevation, of the a salt feeder; and Fig; 3 is a front elevation ofthe salt feeder, with the gear case in sec-.

' tion to show the change speed gears therein.

The drawing illustrates a relatively elevated-hopper or'bin 1 for the reception of the raw cereal product to be treated. From this hopper the cereal passes down a spout 2 I "eggs and larvae contained therein, b u t .prefnot so high as toelfectxan "actual in order to-reach a heating chamber 3.; This piece of apparatus preferably comprlses a substantially horizontal cylindrical casing having. a heating jacket 4 and containing a spiral conveyer 5, the latter being driven from a suitable source of power, as indicated at 6. After leaving the outlet. of the sterilizer the cereal passes through another spout 7 to a blender 8.. The feed of the cereal to the heater, as also the feed of the same to the 14. These conveyers are driven at a definite rate by gearings 15 and 16. In the chamber 3 the ground cereal is subjected to a suitable degree of heat for a 5111"- able period at a suitable pressure below atmospheric, the object being to sterilize the product, killing any eggs or larva that may be contained therein, and to bring the same to a moist or steaming condition by means of the moisture contained in the cereal particles. This period, it will be understood, de-

pends upon the speed at which the conveyer 5 is driven, and this speedis, of course, subject to variation. The heating is preferably efiected by means of steam supplied to the jacket 4 by a pipe l7-and permitted to escape therefrom through the pipe 18, the amount of steam supplied and consequently the degree of heating being regulable by a valve 19.

A suitable exhausting pump 20 connected with the interior of the heater by piping 21 having screened inlets 22 constitutes the means for obtaining a pressure less than atmospheric in the heater, and the'degree of heat isindicated'on a gage 23. In the use of the apparatus a temperature of about 180 F. is suitable, and the drive may be so timed as to subject the cereal particles to'these condi-' tions for a period of eight minutes. Tt is to i be understood, however, that I do-not limit myself to these' precise values, since they may be varied considerably. For example, the degree of fineness of the cerealparticles should be takenrinto consideration, and the higher the temperature the less need be the vacuum, andvice-versa. It is intended, how

ever, that the temperature employed shall. be sufficient to sterilize the cereal and't o kill erably cooking.

The blender 81 preferably ofan" upright casing containing a plurality of re-' versely inclined surfaces over which the mater1al flows, mixing as it does so. .In the particular' construction-shown the casing con tains reversely arranged cone bafllesof which only two, numbered '24 and 25, are h trated, for'lack of space to show more, but it will be understood that the series of baffles which is provided may be'of as great an extent as may be necessary for the purpose to be accomplished. Salt is supplied to this blender'in uniform and regulable quantity, by means of a feeder 26, shown more in detail in Figs. 2 and 3. This-feeder comprises a substantially horizontal cylindrical casing having a hopper 27 containing a spiral conveyer 28 conveniently driven from the shaft 29 of the conveyer 10, through a change speed gearing 30. From the outlet of the feeder the salt passes through a spout 31 to the funnel entrance 32 of the blender, where it joins the stream of moist cereal coming from the heater.

The change speed gearing enables the speed of the conveyer 28 and consequently the rate of delivery of the salt to the blender to be varied exactly in accordance with the needs. it is shown as comprising a pair of shafts 33 and 34, two pairs of gears 35 and 36 slidable on the driving shaft and' coinplementary pairs of gears 37 and '38" fixed on the driven shaft. The slidable' gears are movable by'levers 39 and40 in order to engage the gears of difierent sizes, so as to produce different ratios of drive. With the gearing shownfour speeds are obtainable.

The driving shaft of the pair is shown as carrying a pulley 41, by which itis driven from the shaft 29 through belting 42, and

We n 28 by a a conditions. The salt and the moist cereal are brought into close contact as they pass through the contracted mouth of the funnel 32, and as they pass on through the blender are. tumbled and rolled together, the salt "sticking to the cereal particles and being -..part ly dissolved in the moisture thereof, with-the result that when the product cools the salt remains'crystallized on the particles and does not separate therefrom. The salt the driven shaft 34 is shown as connected thus ,cQmbined preserves the cereal, pre-' venting heating and molding thereof, and

the incubation of grubs which develop into .cut w9rms'and Mediterranean moth. I

A'by-pass spout 44 is preferably provided,

' leading. from the bottom'of the bin 1 to the inlet of the blender 8, and having a spiral 'fconveyer 45 interposed therein to reg- .ulat'ethefeed, this conveyer being shown belted'to the shaft '29. A-valve 46 enables I thecereal in the bin to be directedalterna tively. into the spout 2, leading to the heater, or the spout 44, leadingdirectly to the of elevators which increase blender. This by-pass is chiefly useful when flour or other cereal product isto be "mixed with any granular material, as in the case of prepared flours for biscuits, pancakes, etc., such granular material being supplied in appropriate quantity by the feeder 26. Another spout 47 leading into the spout 44 and coming, it will be understood, from another hopper "or bin, is illustrative of the fact that the apparatus may be used for mixing different cereals, with each other, or with other materials.

While the action which takes place in the heater 3 is preferably not a cooking operation, the treatment may be so conducted that a portion of the albuminoids. contained in the cereal product is coagulated. Such coagulated albuminoids may be removed by a suitable screen, not shown, before the cereal passes to the blender, thus recovering a valuable by-product and avoiding an excess of albuminoids in the cereal.

It will be observed that the system, is a closed one throughout, thus guarding against the access of the Mediterranean moth, and for the same purpose I prefer to make the spouts and conduits of metal or metal-lined, since wooden spouts are not impervious to the moth. The apparatus is also preferably so arranged, as illustrated, that the transfer of the cereal from point to point is eifected in the main by gravity, thus avoiding the use the opportunities for entrance to the Mediterranean moth.

What I claim as new is: l 1. An apparatus for treating cereal productscomprising, in combination, a heating chamber and means for heating the same,

meansfor feeding the cereal product therefor delivering the heatto, a blender, means cereal product to the ed and still moist blender, and means the blender.

2. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising, in combination, a jacketed heating chamber, means for supplying heat- I ing fluid to the jacket of the chamber, means ucts comprising, in

for feeding the cereal product to the interior of thecha'mber, livering the heated and still moist cereal product to the blender, and means for supplying salt to the blender.

3. n apparatus for treating cereal prodcombination, a heating heating the same, the cereal product therechamber and means for salt in regulated moist cereal.

4. An apparatus ucts comprising, in combination, a

quantity to the heated and for treating cereal prod heater and means for supplying the cereal product' thereto, a blender and means'for transferring the heated and still moist cereal to the blender, said blender comprising a series latter to the blender,

for supplying salt to a blender, meansfor decereal product thereto,

the material travels by gravity,

andmeans for supplying salt in regulated quantity to said blender.

5. An apparatus for treating cerealproducts comprising, in combination, a heating chamber, a closed spout having a substantially horizontal section and a conveyer therein for delivering the cereal product at a definite rate to the heating chamber, means for conveying the cereal product through the. heating chamber, a blender connected with the outlet of the chamber, means for feeding the heated and moist cereal at a definite rate to the blender, and means for supplying salt in regulated quantity to said blender. j

6." An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising, in combination, a heating chamber containing a conveyor for conducting the cereal product therethrough, a blender connected with theoutlet of the heating chamber, conveyers for feeding the cereal product at a definite rate to the heating chamber and after passing through the and means for feeding salt in regulated quantity to said blender.

7.- An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising a system of closed metallined spouts, .a heating chamber and a blender, conveyers for feeding the cereal product to the heating chamber and afterward to the blender and for progressing it through the heating chamber, and a salt feeder connected with the blender.

8. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising a hopper, a heating, chamber, means for conducting the cereal prod not from .the hopper to the heating chamber, a blender, means .for conducting the cereal product from the heating chamber to the blender and means for feeding salt thereto, and a by-pass from the hopper to the blender.

9. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising, in combination, a heating chamber and means means for maintaining a partial vacuum in the heating chamber, means for feeding the cereal product thereto, a blender, means for delivering the heated and still moist cereal product to the blender, and means for supplying salt to the blender.

10. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising, in combination, a heating chamber and, means for heating the same, means for maintaining a partial vacuum in the heating chamber, means for feeding the and means for supplying salt in regulated quantity to the heated and moist cereal:

11 An apparatus for treating ucts comprising a system of closed metal-v lined spouts, a

blender, conveyers for feeding the cereal for heating the same,

cereal pr odheating chamber and a product to the heating chamber andafterward to the blender andfor progressing it g'through the heating chamber, means for maintaining a partial vacuum in the heating chamber, and a salt feeder connected with the blender.

12., An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising a heating chamber, a. source ,of supply ofcereal product connected therewith, a blender and means for conducting the cereal product from the heating chamber to the blender, means for supplying other material to the blender, and a by-pass from the aforesaid source of supply to'the blender. s 5 13. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising a heating chamber, a spout for conducting cereal product thereto, a blender and "means for conducting the cereal product from the heating chamber tothe v,lcilender, means for supplying other material to the blender, and a plurality' of other spouts for conducting cereal products to the blender withou't chamber.- l4. Anappara'tus for treating cereal products comprising a feed receptacle to receive the cereal product, a heating chamber, a blender connected with' the outlet of the passing through the heating heating chamber, spouts for conducting the cereal product from the feed receptacle to the heating chamber and to the blender, respectively, a valve for directing the flow into one or other of said s outs, and means for supplying other material to the blender.

neonate 15. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising the combination with a heating chamber, a blender, and means for supplying cereal product to the heating chamber, conducting it therethrough and thence to the blender, of a salt feeder having its outlet connected with the blender and comprising a chamber provided with a hopper and containing a feed device, a source of power, and a change speed gearing for driv-' ing said feed device todeliver the salt to the blender in regulable quantity.

16. An apparatus for treating cereal products comprising a heating chamber, means for supplying cereal product thereto, exhausting means connected with the heating chamber, a blender and means for transferucts comprising. a heater, means for supplying cereal product thereto, a blender connected with the outlet of the heater, and a .salt feeder connected with the'blender.

Dated, March 22nd, 1916.

THOMAS G. nLAomJooK. 

